First love your work, then love your customers

I don’t know why, but I’ve always been obsessed with the idea of customers. I love sifting through a business’ customer base, creating customer segments and then creating marketing that makes each customer in each segment feel unique, beautiful and deeply appreciated.

I love this idea so much that one day, years ago, while working full time, I started an online store (selling organic baby clothing), simply because I wanted to have my own customers. I wanted to show them how much I care about them. The thought of treating my customers with an insane amount of care and attention made my heart fill up and almost burst out with joy.

Oh, how foolish I was! I learned quickly through this one experience that no matter how much you love your customers, you have to first and foremost love your work in order to make your customers feel loved.

In this case, I didn’t love my work. I didn’t love managing product, inventory, operations and all the day to day activities. And most of all, I didn’t feel a deep connection towards the product I was selling. Baby clothes are deliciously cute, but selling them didn’t help me personally feel fulfillment.

You see, when you love your work, your customers smell your passion from miles away. They feel attracted to you, they want to join in on your high vibe of love and appreciation - even if they don’t care that much about what you’re selling.

Years ago, I worked with a company that had highly loyal customers, even though this company didn’t stand out when it comes to treating its customers with extra care and attention. But there was one thing this company had, that most other companies I’d personally seen didn’t - its employees were genuinely living and breathing the product. They felt proud, transformed, beautiful, confident and unique when they touched, owned or talked about this product.

Customers sense the connection you have towards your own product. And when you proudly display it, they’ll stampede to buy your product.

That’s because they’re not just buying your product. To them, your product will represent much more than what’s in the box. It will represent pride, joy, passion, self-appreciation, self-confidence, self-love. That’s what they’re really buying from you. And that’s what you’re offering them when you truly love your work and when you talk to them about how much you love your work.

It sounds counterintuitive at first, and perhaps it sounds even surprising to hear the woman who created a customer retention & loyalty program say this. But friends, love your work first, then love your customers.